Dr. Hannah Scott’s big train adventure
Earlier this year, Dr. Hannah Scott, Head of Sustainability (Property and ICT) travelled to Budapest to view the sustainable data centre Imperial is purchasing from LENOVO. Imperial’s future high-density computing systems will be water cooled using technologies developed and refined over the past decade, inspired in part by research carried out at Imperial.
Instead of flying to Budapest, Hannah decided to travel by train to choose the more climate-conscious option and show how far you can travel by train and still work. Despite some small issues with internet connection, Hannah was surprised with how much work she was able to get done and would absolutely recommend travelling by train for work in Europe.
For any information about Business Trips or working for Imperial while travelling abroad, please visit the International Mobility webpages.
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Dr. Hannah Scott
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Hannah's quote
“At a time when the environmental impact of flying is undeniable, taking the train and going slower but working on route might just be a great option.” Dr. Hannah Scott, Head of Sustainability (Property and ICT)
Hannah's big train adventure video
Transcript
There have been a variety of videos focused on travelling across Europe by train for holidays. What about travelling across Europe by train for work? Instead of flying, can you travel slower and more sustainably, but work as you travel so the time is not wasted?
I decided to travel by train from London to Budapest for work and I'll rate the experience here.
I went from London to Brussels, Brussels to Prague and then Prague to Budapest which in total took about a day and a half.
The first leg of the journey being Eurostar was as pleasant as we all know Eurostar to be. Plenty of leg room, space to work and some Internet connection when you're not under the English Channel.
The second leg was the European sleeper which was a little less comfortable. At first I was excited as I thought I had the cabin all to myself, but soon realised that the number of water bottles on the windowsill corresponded to the number of people who would join my all-female cabin. Four more to arrive.
I set up the beds and settled down for the night with my earplugs in. Unfortunately the loud announcements, the rattling windows which had to be kept open as there was no air con and the
people coming and going didn't allow for the best night's sleep, but it was quite fun to be on a sleeper train.
Next leg of the journey from Prague to Budapest was exceptional. There was lovely large cabins with
comfortable seats and good internet connection. It left at 11:00 AM in the morning and arrived at 7:00 PM so I was able to do a full day's work before arriving in Budapest.
Overall, the journey to Budapest began at 12:00 PM in London and finished at 8:00 PM the following day, totalling 32 hours.
When contrasted with flying to Budapest, which can take approximately 7 hours including airport transport and waiting, this is an extra day of travelling. However, both days were four working days with good Wi-Fi, which was even good enough to join some Teams meetings when the Internet
connection was not the best. I simply used Word or Notes on my phone and I would absolutely recommend travelling by train for work in Europe, especially if the travel is just for one day.
If it's for longer, I've learnt that there's a variety of night trains to choose from which vary in age and comfort.
At a time when the environmental impact of flying is undeniable, taking the train and going slower but working on route might just be a great option.
Further information
I used Eurostar’s WiFi connection on the first leg of the journey and then my own mobile’s hotspot on the other trains. I was surprised by the internet coverage across Europe as I could work online for a lot of the time.
Yes, there are private cabins available on the European Sleeper and some lines have more comfortable cabins too.